A young couple from Dublin who are grieving the loss of their first child have been forced to start a fundraiser to cover the costs of the funeral.
Reita Mallak and Glen McDermot were excited about their first arrival when they found out Reita was pregnant in 2020. But after a healthy nine months of pregnancy, their daughter Mya was sadly stillborn in June 2021.
The couple were then hit with a fresh blow when they discovered how much their daughter's funeral would cost, which included €6,000 for a headstone.
They continue to pay off the expenses of the beautiful ceremony they held, as well as bringing up Mya’s sister Layla who was born late last year.
Speaking to Dublin Live, Reita said they found themselves with no option but to launch a fundraiser.
She explained: "We have payed half the price and there was still €1,035 left to pay off and we only found out about the other half late last year. All this money will be going toward the funeral cost and most of it will be going toward our little girl's headstone which has been quoted at €6,400."
Speaking about her pregnancy, she said it was going smoothly up until almost full-term, when she woke up one morning with intense pain.
An ambulance was called and she was rushed to hospital.
Reita said: "When they put me on the emergency bed they told me they couldn’t hear any heart beat. We then felt the world crumbled around us.
"Our heart was broken and we felt like there was nothing else to live for. Our girl was our hope and peace in life then she was gone in a second.
"They told me the placenta had fallen so she couldn’t breath and that was the reason why I felt such bad pain. She was moving all the way to my heart like she was telling me to help her.
"She was such a perfect baby. After they took her out the doctor told the dad and mother in law that I was going to lose my life too if I didn’t keep calm. My little girl had saved me."
The couple explained that Glen's mother took care of the cost of the funeral at the time but there is still money needed for the cost of the headstone.
After having baby Layla last year, they now more than ever want a resting place for Mya so Layla can visit her big sister.
A GoFundMe has raised almost €5,000 so far, from dozens of donations.
It's being run by Click To Clean, who wrote: "Here at ClickToClean we are huge on family so when we heard Mya`s story we just knew we had to do something to help her parents.
"Mya's mam had a perfectly healthy pregnancy until it came to giving birth when unfortunately there were complications due to placenta abruption which caused Mya to be born sleeping on 29th June, 21.
"Mya's parents were young and excited about her arrival they never imagined anything like this could ever happen to them. This meant when planning the funeral they were shocked by the cost of the funeral expenses.
"Mya's parents are still trying to pay off the expenses of the beautiful ceremony they held, as well as bringing up Mya’s sister Layla who they were blessed with late last year.
"Mya deserves a beautiful resting place for her parents, now little sister Layla and family to visit and remember her, this is where we are hoping you can help. We have set us this fundraiser to help Mya's parents pay off her funeral and order their beautiful daughter the headstone she deserves.
"Any donation of any amount is greatly appreciated, if you can't donate even just sharing the fundraiser will help in many ways. Thanks in advance to anyone who reads their beautiful story and to anybody who helped them on their journey to getting Mya her perfect resting place."
For more information or to donate visit the Mya McDermott GoFundMe fundraiser HERE.
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